Individual existence, as well as the whole world, is in absolute reality nothing but a process of ever changing phenomena, which all are included in the five groups of existence: Form, Feeling, Perception, Construction & Consciousness! This process has gone on from time immemorial, before one's birth, & also after one's death it will continue for an endless period of time, as long, and as far, as there are causing conditions feeding it! These five groups of phenomena inno way constitute an ego-entity, enduring personality, same self or inner soulneither when taken separately nor when combined... Neither can any identityor substance be found 'outside' of these all embracing groups of phenomena... In other words, the five groups of existence are not-self or no-self = anatta, nor do they belong to a self = anattaniya. In view of the impermanence & theconditionality of all existence, a belief in any form of self must be evaluated as an illusion. Why so? Self must stay the 'same' in order to remain a true self. But nothing here or there ever stays the same! All is transient & impermanent!Secondly: Self must be in control to be called a self. But no self can controlcausality... Things arise & cease - despite whatever self - due to conditions... Since nothing stays the 'same' as an identical identity, no thing can be self!Since nothing is in full control even of itself or any other, no thing can be self! Just as what we designate by the name car, has no existence apart from axle, wheels, motor, chassis, and so forth, or as the word house is only a convenient designation for various materials such as cement, clay, wood etc. put together in a specific way so as to close a portion of space. Apart from these materialsthere is no separate 'house entity' in existence! In exactly same way is that, which we call a 'being' or 'individual', or 'person', or by the name 'I' or 'Me' nothing but an ever changing mixture of physical & mental phenomena, made up of the above mentioned five groups and has as such no real existence in itself. This is, in brief, the anatta doctrine of the Buddha: The teaching that fathomsthat all that exists dead or alive is void (suñña) of a permanent self or substance! It is the fundamental Buddhist doctrine, not found at all in any other religious or philosophical system. To comprehend it fully, not only in a neat abstract andintellectual way, but by constant reference to actual experience, is indeed an indispensable condition for the true understanding of the Buddha-Dhamma and for the realization of its goal: Nibbana... Yeah!

Venerable Nyanatiloka Thera: Born 1922 in Germany. Died 1957 on Ceylon.

The Blessed Buddha once said:Bhikkhus and friends, these 8 things, purified, cleansed, immaculate, free from distortion, elegant and sophisticated, if not arisen do not arise at all except from the appearance of a Tathagata, an Arahat, a Perfectly Enlightened One, or outside a Well-Gone-One’s Discipline! What eight?

1: Right View (samma-ditthi)2: Right Motivation (samma-sankappa)3: Right Speech (samma-vaca)4: Right Action (samma-kammanta)5: Right Livelihood (samma-ajiva)6: Right Effort (samma-vayama)7: Right Awareness (samma-sati)8: Right Concentration (samma-samadhi)

These 8 things, purified, cleared, faultless, unaltered and not decayed, advanced and refined, if not emerged do not appear, except when a Thus-Come-Thus-Gone One, a Worthy One, a Perfectly Self-Awakened One emerges, except for when the Method of Training of a Well-Gone One is well established… Just these 8 immaculate Things…

Any greed, lust, desire, longing, urge, hankering, hoping or wishing for this orthat state must be made to fade away absolutely, enabling mind to be fullyreleased and thus liberated by the elimination of all greed. All states of the 3 planes (sensual, fine-material and formless existence) is meant all-inclusively,since it is necessary not to omit anything suitable for complete comprehension. The Blessed One said: Bhikkhus, without directly knowing, without fully under-standing all, without causing the fading away of any greed for this all, without leaving it all behind, the mind is incapable of the full destruction of suffering! Bhikkhus, it is by directly knowing, by fully understanding all, by causing the fading away of greed for it, by abandoning it, that the mind becomes capable of the irreversible complete destruction of all suffering! SN IV 17

Philosophy professor Dr. Robert Almeder of Georgia State University discusses reincarnation and societal reactions, focusing especially on the work of the late Dr. Ian Stevenson whose presentation is here: http://youtu.be/-pPBwFFWz_k

Some children can remember exact & verifiable details of their prior life they never could have come to know in this their current child life. These details can be objectively and independently confirmed. Remarkably & quite biologically enigmatic: Some of them have birth marks and birth defects at very same locations as the lethal injury causing their often abrupt and violent past life death. Eg. Born with 5 missing fingers after a prior life accident where they were cut off... Birthmarks at the exact location where they got gunshot wounds in their prior life, which could be confirmed from the autopsy report of their deceased individuality. Furthermore: Some can speak a language they never have learnt in this life (xenoglossy) corresponding to their past life language & nationality. They can in some cases remember names of siblings and other family members in their past life family who they never have met in this life...

Selected Ian Stevenson Bibliography:(1974). Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (second revised and enlarged edition). University of Virginia Press.(1974). Xenoglossy: A Review and Report of A Case. University of Virginia Press.(1975). Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Vol. I: Ten Cases in India. University of Virginia Press.(1978). Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Vol. II: Ten Cases in Sri Lanka. University of Virginia Press.(1980). Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Vol. III: Twelve Cases in Lebanon and Turkey. University of Virginia Press.(1983). Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Vol. IV: Twelve Cases in Thailand and Burma. University of Virginia Press.(1984). Unlearned Language: New Studies in Xenoglossy. University of Virginia Press.(1997). Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects. Volume 1: Birthmarks. Volume 2: Birth Defects and Other Anomalies. Praeger Publishers.(1997). Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect. Praeger Publishers (a short, non-technical version of Reincarnation and Biology).(2000). Children Who Remember Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation (revised edition).(2003). European Cases of the Reincarnation Type. McFarland & Company.

Summarized in the recent:Science, the Self, and Survival after Death: Selected Writings of Ian Stevensonhttps://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442221147by his colleague, Emily Williams Kelly: Ian Stevenson was a prominent and internationally-known psychiatrist, researcher, prolific author, and well-regarded figure in the field of psychical research. Science, the Self, and Survival after Death: Selected Writings of Ian Stevenson is the first book devoted to surveying the entirety of his work and the extraordinary scope and variety of his research. He studied universal questions that cut to the core of a person's identity: What is consciousness? How did we become the unique individuals that we are? Do we survive in some form after death? Stevenson's writings on the nature of science and the mind-body relationship, as well as his empirical research, demonstrate his strongly held belief that the methods of science can be applied successfully to such humanly vital questions. Featuring a selection of his papers and excerpts from his books, this collection presents the larger context of Stevenson's work and illustrates the issues and questions that guided him throughout his career. Our esteemed colleague, Emily Williams Kelly, is the editor of this collection of Dr. Stevenson's writing.

Homage to that Perfectly Self-Enlightened One!Thus, indeed, is that the Blessed One: He is the worthy One, fully enlightened, endowed with clear vision and virtuous conduct, sublime, the knower of worlds, the incomparable leader of men to be tamed, the teacher of gods and men, awakened and blessed. Forever do I reverence for the Buddhas of the past, those of the times to come, those Buddhas of the present time... No other refuge do I seek: The Buddha is my only true refuge. By this Truth may peaceful victory be mine! I revere with my head the dust on his holy feet.If I have wronged the Buddha, may the Buddha bear with me.Until life’s end, to the Buddha I go for saving refuge. Who is the foremost speaker among mankind, The Sakyan Sage, O Holy One, whose task is done, gone beyond, possessed of supreme power and energy! To you, the wellcome and wellgone One, I go for refuge!

Homage to that perfectly formulated Dhamma!The Dhamma of the Blessed One is perfectly explained, to be seen here and now, inviting one to come and see, leading onward to Nibbana; to be known by any wise, each for himself. Homage to that Dhamma leading out of this suffering, out of samsara! The Dhamma of the ages past, the Dhamma of the times to come, the Dhamma of the present time, forever do I reverence.No other refuge do I seek, the Dhamma is my true refuge. By this Truth:May peaceful victory be mine! I revere with my head this triple Dhamma of the three supreme qualities: Morality, Concentration and Understanding...If I have wronged the Dhamma: May the Dhamma bear with me. Until life’s end to the Dhamma I go for refuge. Freed from lust, cleared of craving, sorrow-free: An absolute Law, gracious,gratifying and satisfying, sweet, potent, profound, an analytic science...To this very Dhamma I go for refuge!

Homage to that Great Sangha Community of the Eight Noble persons.The Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples has entered on the good way; the straight way; the true way ; on the direct way, that is to say: the 4 pairs of men, the 8 types of persons. This Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples is fit for gifts, fit for hospitality, fit for offerings, and fit for reverential salutation with joined palms, as an incomparable field of merit in the world.Forever do I reverence: The Sanghas of the past ages, those of the times to come, and the Sanghas of the present time. No other refuge do I seek. The Sangha is my true refuge. By this very Truth: May peaceful victory be mine! I revere with my head this peerless Sangha. If I have wronged this Sangha: May the Sangha bear with me. Until life’s end, to the Sangha I go for refuge. Whatever is given to the four pure pairs of persons and these eight kind of people, who have realized the Truth, this bears great fruit...!To this very Sangha I go for refuge!

The Most Precious Altar of our Temple: Soon this fragile body will fall to the ground,lifeless, cast aside, without any consciousness,stiff, cold & useless like a rotten log of wood ...Dhammapada 41

MomentaryWhosoever knows this body to be as temporary as a bubble,as insubstantial as a mirror image,May break Mara's honey tipped arrows and Can thus not be seen by this evil King of Death ...Dhammapada 46

Big Surprise!Death carries off the folly man while distractedby gathering various flowers of sensual pleasure,even & exactly so as the huge tsunami wave runs all over and carries away the sleeping village. Dhammapada 47

In the ultimate sense, beings have only a very short moment to live: Only as long as one single moment of consciousness lasts! Just as the cart wheel, in rolling forward as in standing still, every time rests merely on one point of its rim: just so does any life of any being last only as long as a single moment of consciousness lasts! As soon as this moment is gone, that momentary being is also all gone...One is therefore reborn millions of times in each second!For as it was said by the ancient elders: All life and all existence here is blinking & momentary,All life's engaged involvement, its joy and all its pain,Depends all only on one single discrete state of mind,And quickly that moment passes by, for never to return...Source: Visuddhimagga VIII,1

The Blessed Buddha once said:And what, Bhikkhus, is the Joy not of this world? Aloof and above any lust, quite secluded from any sense desire, protected from any disadvantageous mental state, one enters & dwells in the 1st jhana mental absorption; full of joy & pleasure born of solitude, joined with directed & sustained thought...With the stilling of directed & sustained thought, one later enters & dwells in the 2nd jhana of calmed assurance & unification of mind devoid of any thought & thinking, joined with joy & pleasure now born of concentration! These are called the joys not of this world! And what, Bhikkhus, is the joy beyond that joy, which is not of this world? When a bhikkhu, whose mental fermentations are eliminated, reviews his mind liberated from lust, freed from hatred, and released from confusion, there arises a transcendental joy. This is called Joy quite beyond that joy, that is not of this world...

Some children can remember exact & verifiable details of their prior life they never could have come to know in this their current child life. These details can be objectively and independently confirmed. Remarkably & quite biologically enigmatic: Some of them have birth marks and birth defects at very same locations as the lethal injury causing their often abrupt and violent past life death. Eg. Born with 5 missing fingers after a prior life accident where they were cut off... Birthmarks at the exact location where they got gunshot wounds in their prior life, which could be confirmed from the autopsy report of their deceased individuality. Furthermore: Some can speak a language they never have learnt in this life (xenoglossy) corresponding to their past life language & nationality. They can in some cases remember names of siblings and other family members in their past life family who they never have met in this life...

Selected Ian Stevenson Bibliography:(1974). Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (second revised and enlarged edition). University of Virginia Press.(1974). Xenoglossy: A Review and Report of A Case. University of Virginia Press.(1975). Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Vol. I: Ten Cases in India. University of Virginia Press.(1978). Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Vol. II: Ten Cases in Sri Lanka. University of Virginia Press.(1980). Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Vol. III: Twelve Cases in Lebanon and Turkey. University of Virginia Press.(1983). Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Vol. IV: Twelve Cases in Thailand and Burma. University of Virginia Press.(1984). Unlearned Language: New Studies in Xenoglossy. University of Virginia Press.(1997). Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects. Volume 1: Birthmarks. Volume 2: Birth Defects and Other Anomalies. Praeger Publishers.(1997). Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect. Praeger Publishers (a short, non-technical version of Reincarnation and Biology).(2000). Children Who Remember Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation (revised edition).(2003). European Cases of the Reincarnation Type. McFarland & Company.

Summarized in the recent:Science, the Self, and Survival after Death: Selected Writings of Ian Stevensonhttp://www.amazon.com/Science-Self-Surv ... 1442221143https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442221147by his colleague, Emily Williams Kelly: Ian Stevenson was a prominent and internationally-known psychiatrist, researcher, prolific author, and well-regarded figure in the field of psychical research. Science, the Self, and Survival after Death: Selected Writings of Ian Stevenson is the first book devoted to surveying the entirety of his work and the extraordinary scope and variety of his research. He studied universal questions that cut to the core of a person’s identity: What is consciousness? How did we become the unique individuals that we are? Do we survive in some form after death? Stevenson’s writings on the nature of science and the mind-body relationship, as well as his empirical research, demonstrate his strongly held belief that the methods of science can be applied successfully to such humanly vital questions. Featuring a selection of his papers and excerpts from his books, this collection presents the larger context of Stevenson’s work and illustrates the issues and questions that guided him throughout his career. Our esteemed colleague, Emily Williams Kelly, is the editor of this collection of Dr. Stevenson's writing.

The Buddha said on the need for Bliss: Friends, for the virtuous one, correctly behaving, completed in morality, there is no need to wish: “May I enjoy a clear conscience”, since the right action, of correct behaviour completed by purifying morality, naturally results in the arising of a clear conscience.Friends, for the moral one of clear conscience, there is no need to wish: “May gladness pervade me”,since any clear conscience spontaneously is followed by the appearance of joyous gladness!Friends, for the glad one there is no need to wish: “May rapture thrill me”, since gladness automatically excites exalted rapture. Friends, for the enraptured one there is no need to wish: “May calm tranquillity still me”,since rapture inherently simply evaporates all urge and frustrated restlessness. Friends, for one dwelling in serene tranquillity there is no need to wish: “May pleasure perfuse me”,since abiding calmly in tranquil ease all by itself, makes one delight in pleasure.Friends, for one perfused by pleasure there is no need to wish: “May I be absorbed in concentration”,since a mind filled with pleasure effortlessly & smoothly condenses into a single focused unification!Friends, for one concentrated there is no need to wish: “May I understand reality as it actually develops”,since the undistracted concentrated mind efficiently penetrates phenomena & causes as they really are.Friends, for one knowing & seeing reality there is no need to wish: “May disgusted disillusion detach me”,since seeing reality & knowing how it always becomes, induces detachment by disgusted disillusion.Friends, for one detached by disillusion there is no need to wish: “May I realize final mental releasethrough absolute knowledge & vision”, since such disgusted disillusion, friends, naturally, readily, easily, essentially & characteristically culminates in the matchless, unsurpassable & supreme releasing liberationby complete knowledge & vision. Yeah, so mighty is morality!

May I be happy, may I sustain my happiness by living without trace of enmity.May all beings be happy & successful: May they be of full of joy, all beings that breathe & have life, whether they are weak or strong, tiny or huge, visible or invisible, near or far away, born or to be born, let all beings enjoy safety, content ease and a serene bliss!Let no one deceive another, let no one be harsh in speech, let no one by anger or hatred wish bad for his neighbour. Even as a mother, at the risk of her life, guards and protects her only child, so with a boundless heart of compassion, I venerate all living beings by permeating this entire universe with sympathy, above, beneath and all around, without limit, immeasurable and endless! In this very fine way I cultivate an infinite goodwill toward this whole world.Standing or walking, sitting or lying down, during all my waking hours I willalways treasure and dwell in this thought, knowing that this way of caring is the most Noble in this entire universe!Thus shall I, by stilling pointless discussions and controversies, and by acting blamelessly, be gifted with tranquillity and true insight into what is profound. Thus shall I subdue the urge for sense-pleasure, and never again know rebirth. May this also inspire and thereby cause all other sentient beings to fulfil the conditions leading swiftly to Nibbana, which is the only lasting happiness! May all sentient beings be thus liberated & fully released from all suffering.May all sentient beings thus escape the dangers of ageing, disease, & death. Friendliness is the Greatest! Yeah...

The blessed Buddha once said:Contentment is the Highest Treasure!Dhammapada 204

Solitude is happiness for one who is content,Who understands & clearly sees the Dhamma.Udana 10

What is the proximate cause of contentment?Mutual joy with others success is the proximate cause of contentment...Therefore: If one is always gladdened by other's success, one will always be content!Therefore: If one is never gladdened by other's success, one will always be discontent!Therefore is contentment caused by an altruistic mental state & not by external richness...Example: Rich people possessing all the things they ever desired, can still be very discontent!And vice versa: Poor people not having much, can still be very content and very much smiling!

The Buddha once asked: How, Bhikkhus and friends, is there non-control? Seeing a form with the eye, one becomes attracted by the pleasing form,while repelled by the displeasing form. Having heard a sound with the ear, one becomes attracted by the charming sound, while repulsed by a horrid sound. Having sniffed a smell with the nose, one becomes attracted by the lovely smell, while repelled by a detestable smell. Having tasted a flavour with the tongue, one becomes attracted by the liked taste, while repelled by a disliked taste. Feeling a touch with the body, one becomes attracted by the pleasant touch, while repelled by any unpleasant touch. When one experiences a mental phenomenon with the mind, one becomes attracted by the agreeable mental phenomenon, while repelled by any disagreeable mental phenomenon. In this uncontrolled way does such mind live without having established Awareness of the body, & confined by a limited mind! Therefore does such one neither understand, nor experience that release of mind, that mental liberation through understanding, wherein those evil detrimental states cease without remaining trace. In exactly this way is there non-control!

Comments:The limited & finite mind is a mind not made infinite by the praxis of the 4 sublime or 'divine abodes' (brahma-vihara), also called the four infinite mental states (appamañña), which are:

When sitting alone, in silence, each early morning, with closed eyes one wishes:May I radiate and meet only never-ending and mutually rejoicing joy!May I & all the various beings on the 31 levels of existence develop and findonly celebration and elation in a never-ending mutually rejoicing joy!May I & all beings on the sense-desire, fine-material, and the formless plane develop and encounter this generous, infinite and mutually rejoicing joy!May I & all beings in the front, to the right, the back, the left, and below as above, develop and experience openhearted, sharing, & mutually rejoicing joy!May I and all beings within this city, country, planet and universe always: Be fully aware and deeply mindful of this content and mutually rejoicing joy!Examine all details & aspects of this satisfied and mutually rejoicing joy!Put enthusiastic effort in our praxis of this devoted mutually rejoicing joy!Enjoy enraptured jubilant gladness in this exulting mutually rejoicing joy!Be silenced by the tranquillity of quiet and all smiling mutually rejoicing joy!Be concentrated & absorbed into one-pointedness by genuine rejoicing joy!Dwell in an imperturbable equanimity of pure and mutually rejoicing joy...Yeah! May it be even so, since mutual joy causes the jewel of contentment!

Comment: Mutual Joy is the 3rd infinite mental state (Appamañña):This gradually reduces all envy, jealousy, possessiveness, stinginess, avaricemiserliness, green covetousness and unhappiness related with all these states.The cause of Mutual Joy in rejoicing in your child's or boon companion's success. This same joy can then be beamed towards all liked, neutral and hostile beings.Mutual Joy is then the proximate cause of satisfied and fulfilled Contentment...Lack of mutual joy is thus the proximate cause of dissatisfied discontentment...Joined with the 7 links to Awakening it will later cause a formless jhana...Be happy at all and especially other being's success! Then calm comfort grows!

The Blessed Buddha once said:Bhikkhus, just as this body, is sustained by feeding, exists in dependence on feeding & cannot survive without food, even so are the 7 Links to Awakeningalso sustained by feeding, they also can only exist in dependence on feeding and they cannot survive without feeding... And what, bhikkhus, is the feeding of the emergence of any yet unarisen joy and also feeding of the completion by increase of any already arisen joy? There are mental states that are the originator, maker, producer, root, basis & source for the awakening of joy!Frequently giving careful & rational attention to them, is feeding the arising and gradual fulfillment of joy... And what is the starving that obstructs the emergence of any yet unarisen joy and which also hinders any already arisen joy from reaching sweet fulfillment by development? There are states that are the basis & source for the joy link to awakening! Not giving frequent careful and rational attention to them; not considering them much & often; is the starving that prevents any unarisen joy from arising and also blocks any already arisen joy from reaching any complete fulfillment by mental meditative training...

Comments from the classical commentaries:Elated & ecstatic exultation is the characteristic of the Joy Link to Awakening(Piti-sambojjhanga). Motivated intentness upon is the purpose of the quality of Joy.Satisfaction lifting any depression is the manifestation of the Joy Link to Awakening.Thinking of Joy makes this state return! This can be utilized by training it! Try now!This reinforcement - in itself - has the capacity to gradually elevate and induce Joy!Therefore is the state of gladness & Joy itself mainspring, basis & source of more Joy…It is the deliberate directing attention to this, again & again, that can produce Joy!!!

Further conditions helpful for arising of the Joy Link to Awakening are:1: Recollection of the supreme and sublime uniqueness of the Buddha...2: Recollection of the supreme and sublime uniqueness of the Dhamma...3: Recollection of the supreme and sublime uniqueness of the Sangha...4: Recollection of the supreme and sublime efficacy of pure Morality...5: Recollection of the supreme and sublime efficacy of prior Generosity…6: Recollection of the qualities that gave the devas their divinity...7: Remembering the stilled silent state of blissful Peace...8: Avoidance of primitive, violent, angry, rough, and coarse people.9: Friendship with refined & kind people, who often smile in silent ease.10: Reviewing by reading many inspiring dhamma discourses like this one.11: Commitment & resolute determination to elevate the mind by Joy...

There is joy joined with thinking and there is joy separated from thinking! Both leads to enraptured advance towards many advantageous states. Awakening is a veritable flood of bliss!

Beach-Landing-Planes: Tracking a real Rebirth!A Scottish child can remember his prior life on a remote island Barra in a white, single-story, & ocean-near house with a highly unusual and pin-pointing specific view: Planes landing directly on the beach! The boy could never have come to know this exceptional aviation detail in advance in this his present life, nor the exact name of this island. He also correctly identifies his past life family name. This documentary follows the tracking of his rebirth details by Dr. Jim Tucker.http://youtu.be/afVeG4tVKbo

CONTENT WHEN UNDERSTANDINGSolitude is happiness for one, who is content,Who sees and clearly understands this Dhamma.Harmlessness is happiness in all worlds,Kindness towards all living beings. Udana 10

IDEAL SOLITUDEAvoid going along with fools. Should one fail to find any one, who is better or equal as a good companion, then one should continue this journey all alone.Since there can be no friendship with fools...Dhammapada 61

SWEET & NOT LONELYThe one who has tasted the sweetness of solitudein cooled calm, such one fears not, and wrongdo not,since so indeed is the sweet joy of true Dhamma!Dhammapada 205

SOLITUDE AS NECESSITYIf one cannot find a clever companion, upright, straight and determined,then walk alone like a king leaving the kingdom, like an Elephant freely roam in all the forest...Dhammapada 329

SOLITARY FREEDOMLife in solitude is better than friendship with the fool.Let the one live alone, acting only right, freed from greed,Like the Bull Elephant freely roam in all the forest.Dhammapada 330

THE MASTERMastering the hands.Mastering the feet.Mastering the speech.Mastering the thoughts.Highest Master of Mind;Concentrated and composed,Calm and content in secluded solitude,Such one is indeed rightly called a Bhikkhu ...Dhammapada 362

Comments: Be realistic!If one cannot be in company with one-self, then something must be wrong! Any form of company will dissolve, since all meetings end in separation...The ever socializing parrot-like personality cannot ever end suffering! Only dead fish float with the stream!

At Savatthi. Sitting to one side, the Venerable Radha said to the Blessed One: Venerable sir, it is said, 'suffering, suffering', What now, venerable sir, is suffering?Radha, all form is suffering, all feeling is suffering, all perception is suffering, all intentional mental formation is suffering, and consciousness itself is suffering.Understanding this, Bhikkhu, a well instructed Noble Disciple experiences disgust towards any form, disgust towards any feeling, disgust towards any perception, disgust towards any mental construction, & disgust towards consciousness itself! Experiencing disgust, he becomes disillusioned! Through this disillusion his mind is released. When mind is released, one instantly knows: This mind is liberated, and one understands: Extinguished is rebirth, this Noble Life is all completed, done is what should be done, there is no state of being beyond this...

Comments:These 5 clusters of clinging are what denotes both the internal 'individual'and the 'external' real world. However as they continually change, no sameinternal 'self'= identity or external 'substance'= reality can ever be found!Since always changing they are always lost and therefore are they always ultimately speaking suffering! An inner mental prison of craving for something inevitably, unambiguously & spontaneously vanishing! A fever of folly obsession…

A certain Bhikkhu once asked the Blessed Buddha: Venerable Sir,1: What is feeling? 2: What is the cause of feeling? 3: What is the way to emergence of feeling? 4: What is the ceasing of feeling? 5: What is the way to cease feeling? 6: What is the satisfaction in feeling? 7: What is the danger in feeling? 8: What is the escape from feeling?

The Blessed Buddha answered:There are, Bhikkhu, three feelings: 1: The 3 feelings are pleasant feeling, painful feeling, and neutral feeling. 2: Sense contact is the proximate cause of all feeling...3: Craving is the way leading to the emergence of feeling...4: The end of sense contact, ceases all feeling instantly...5: This Noble Eightfold Way is the way to cease feeling...6: The delight and joy of feeling: This is the satisfaction within feeling... 7: The danger in feeling is its transience, & inherent change into suffering. 8: The escape from feeling is the elimination of desire and lust for feeling.

Comment:Running after pleasurable feeling like mad robots, beings come to pain & death ever again... Wanting short-term pleasure one gains long-term pain!This is an unnecessarily heavy price, when there actually is an alternative of lasting happiness called Nibbana. It is thus quite well worth the effort to give up all emotional and sensorial addiction and obsession. Only then can one ever be completely free, truly happy and dwell in peace Yeah!

The Blessed Buddha once said:Bhikkhus, there are these 5 abilities. What five? 1: The Ability of Faith.2: The Ability of Energy.3: The Ability of Awareness.4: The Ability of Concentration.5: The Ability of Understanding.When these 5 abilities have been developed & cultivated, then seven supreme fruits and excellent benefits may be expected!What are these seven fruits and advantageous benefits?1: One attains final knowledge early in this very life. If not then; 2: One attains final knowledge at the time of death. If not then; 3: One having cut the 5 lower chains attains Nibbana in between;4: One attains Nibbana upon landing in the pure abodes. If not then; 5: One attains Nibbana in the pure abodes without effort. If not then;6: One attains Nibbana in the pure abodes with some effort. If not then;7: One is bound Upstream, heading towards the Akanittha realm.When, Bhikkhus, these five mental abilities have been developed and cultivated, these seven sublime fruits and benefits may be expected.

The Sakyan Mahanama once asked the Blessed Buddha:Venerable Sir, What is a Lay Disciple?Having taken refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha, one is a Lay Disciple!

Venerable Sir, What is a Pure Disciple?Avoiding all killing, stealing, sexual abuse, lying, and neither drinking any alcohol nor taking any drugs causing neglect, one is a Pure Disciple!

Venerable Sir, What is a Faithful Disciple?Placing faith in the Enlightenment of the Tathagata thus: Worthy, honourable & perfectly self-Enlightened is the Buddha! ... teacher & guide of gods and humans, exalted, & awakened ... one is a Faithful Disciple!

Venerable Sir, What is a Generous Disciple?Living mentally devoid stinginess, liberal, open-handed, delighting in donation, devoted to charity, enjoying all giving & sharing, one is a Generous Disciple!

Venerable Sir, What is a Disciple who Understands?One who understands the cause of arising & ceasing, which is Noble, decisive, & which enables eradication of Suffering is a wise Disciple who Understands!